


The Prentiss Years: The Code Breaker

by Megapenguin



Series: The Prentiss Years: The Code Breaker [1]
Category: Criminal Minds (US TV), Criminal Minds RPF
Genre: Airports, Angst, F/F, Female Protagonist, Hurt/Comfort, Loss, Shooting
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-02-13
Updated: 2018-02-13
Packaged: 2019-03-17 20:55:14
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 4
Words: 7,693
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13667106
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Megapenguin/pseuds/Megapenguin
Summary: The Code Breaker from a series called The Prentiss Years, a series of stories following Emily's time in Interpol.





	1. Teaser

**A/N: This is my first story on Archive. Let me know what you think!**

**____________________________________________________________________**  
  


 

**The Code Breaker.**

 

 

She drags the smoke from the cigarette, the ambers burning along the small nicotine stick, smoke dances as it's rising off as ash falls on to the cold hard ground of Paris. She tucks her free hand into the pocket of her cream brown trench coat, she brings the cigarette back to her lips and inhales the nicotine before breathing out another cloud of thick smoke highlighted in the limited light. She looks up to the brick vintage looking building admiring the architecture of the building, the wooden window frames that give shape to the 18th century style cafe, her eyes slowly glance to the main window, looking in the happy customers, sipping their coffee, reading their papers, writing on their laptops and chatting with friends. The light above the café sign illuminates her as her eyes glance to the night sky, watching as the moon peaks through the clouds of the warm night. Her high heels click on the ground as she starts to stroll across the bricked street, bringing the cigarette, once again to her lips, taking in another deep breath, a part of her cover. Her heels click on the ground as she walks towards the bridge overlooking the Seine River, she looks down at her reflection dancing in the water, as a river tour passes under her, tourists with their camera phones out all taking pictures of Notre Dame. The smell of damp brick and moss tickle her nostrils. She turns as she takes another drag on her cigarette finishing the last of it before flicking it into the river below. Her eyes scan the crowd of people walking towards her, away from her, and around her. She tucks a strand of hair from behind her ear to reveal an earpiece and wire. She bites her bottom lip, dragging her teeth over the perky pink flesh, her nostrils flare slightly as the people move around her. Her eyes settle on a woman, walking through the crowd, the lower half of her face covered, she wore a long thick black coat, her hands tucked into her pocket as she briskly walked across the brick street. She takes a left down Place de l'Hôtel de Ville. She watches the woman, she pulls back the sleeve of her trench coat revealing the leather-bound communicator radio watch on her left arm, she brings it to her lips.

"Target sighted, walking down Place de l'Hotel de Ville."

She starts to move through the crowd, weaving her way through the people of Paris, her eyes staying solely on this woman as she walks quickly, her head down, her shoulders slightly hunched, she startles as someone brushes past her a nervous target. She knew that she was the target. She quickens her pace using her fingers to push through the large crowd coming from the bus stop she needed to see where the target was going. She watches the target's body movement as she approaches a building next to a hotel. The target stiffens. The target stops. She stops. The target looks around before reaching forward, curling her fingers into a fist and knocking on the worn wooden door of another vintage building next to one of Paris' most beautiful hotels. She blends into the crowd, pulling her cell phone out from her pocket with the hand she kept hidden, she pretends to look down at the screen. The target disappears into the building. She looks up as she places her phone back into her pocket. She pulls back the sleeve of her coat on her left arm again revealing the watch before bringing it to her lips.

"Agent Prentiss – 3357 Place de l'Hotel de Ville." Emily spoke softly.

She moves away from the building, walking over to the square just behind her, she watches as the Interpol team rush through the crowd as they part like the dead sea, padded in body armour, their guns loaded and safety off. Emily reaches into her pocket and pulls out a pack of cigarettes using her thumb she flips the lid and lifts one out, she places it to her lips before closing the packet and placing it into her pocket. She pulls out a lighter and lights the cigarette, she takes a long drag from the cigarette and breaths out a large cloud of smoke as she walks away from the building.

"You never smoked in DC." A familiar voice spoke from the ear piece.  
Emily smiles. "I was never stressed in DC, Garcia." She replies.  
"And that is how you kill yourself. Garcia out."

She smiles to herself shaking her head as she walks away from the building hearing the sounds of gunfire, shouting, and screaming from behind her.


	2. Airports and Arm Holding

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The first chapter of The Code Breaker a story in the series titled; The Prentiss Years.
> 
> "The hacking has since taken a darker turn." Toby explains as he points the remote at the TV. "As of six – am this morning, Scotland Yard and Interpol's files were hacked as well as MI5 and the CIA, the list of these names have been targeted, Harold Colins – born in Newcastle, wanted for child exploitation, Teevan Doyle, born in Dublin, arrested in Croatia for three accounts of rape, two accounts of first degree murder, he alluded authorities by escaping the country on foot, Interpol have been after him for eight months and Vlad Petrov – A Russian extremist whom has one more than one occasion attempted a terrorist attack in the USA, since his last attempt seven months ago he was put on the CIA watch list but has since vanished."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is the first chapter! I am still nervous because this is my first story so please leave comments! :D

 

**Airports and Arm Holding**

 

 

The wind brushes softly over her slightly rosy cheeks, the clouds above her cluster together, grey and ready to rain, the water of the River Themes below her apartment in Docklands flows through its current, a continues journey through London, she looks to the lonely, rusty, industrial cranes that sit along the banks by the abandoned factories from London's industrial movement. The wood under her feet is damp from the spring dew. She turns around as she takes a sip of the coffee she is holding in her right hand, the gentle black liquid rushes through her body warming her. She smiles as she crosses the threshold of the balcony door, into the brightly lit London flat, the soft carpet against her feet a change from the damp wood of the balcony floor, the flat is neatly decorated, pictures and few personal positions are positioned nicely, none of her previous team. There is no ill will between Emily and the other members of the BAU since she left but she misses them dearly, so much so she can't keep reminders of having them around. Even that one mission with Garcia was enough for Emily to become an emotional wreck when she left her at Heathrow Airport's Terminal Three.

She Crouches her knees, going to the level of her cat; Sergio, a black cat she adopted while she was living in DC. She had to wait three months before he could enter the United Kingdom, but it was worth it to have those nights curled up on the sofa with him while watching some drama on TV or binge-watching Netflix on the weekend, a rarity but it is something Emily adores. Emily stands up, she sips her coffee again as she strolls over to her sofa just by the balcony door facing a TV mounted on a wall with a coffee table just in front of her enough, so Emily could rest her feet. Emily rests back, she sighs putting her feet up. Sergio jumps up onto the arm of the black leather sofa. Emily opens one eye and tilts her head slightly to the left. She reaches and scratches under his chin, he purrs as he climbs onto her lap. Emily lets the small black cat become comfortable before she closes her eyes leaning back against the sofa. It has been a trying week for Emily, while she was used to traveling all over Europe assisting whichever agency needs her and her team it took a toll on the Interpol Agent. She has seen things that would give the everyday person nightmares but since her time in Interpol she has experienced child trafficking, drug smuggling, people at their most vulnerable, and somethings that just left her awake at night, looking at the ceiling, her mind swinging from side to side, no peace, only the faces of those she couldn't help or save.

Seemingly alone in the slight unconsciousness of reality, dosing in and out of her dreams she is suddenly awakened by the sound of her phone ringing. Emily slowly sits up as Sergio jumps off of her chest, she reaches for her phone which is by her foot on the coffee table. She groans when she sees the name on the phone. Sliding across the screen she places the phone to her ear.  
"Prentiss…I'm on my way." She says before hanging up. She looks at the cat who sits on her lap in front of her she smiles as he head-butts her hand. She leans forward and kisses the top of his head. "I'm sorry, buddy. Mrs. Kaine will check on you." She says as she stands up allowing him to jump off her lap.

The sun shines down on the glass building of the London branch of Interpol. The sounds of London bounce off the tall buildings, people clamber out of the underground station, walking along the pavements of central London. Emily approaches the steps ascending as busy Londoners and other Interpol agents descend. She pushes open the large glass front door stepping forward through the threshold into the clean and prestige, heavily guarded building. One guard stands by the ID barriers, another by the reception desk and the last one by the front door, all holding guns. Emily smiles at the woman behind the desk as she scans her ID card into the barriers. They open with a slight screeching sound that makes Emily wince slightly. She passes through the threshold walking over to the elevator. She reaches forward, presses the silver button pointing up, and waits for the elevator to arrive. Her attention is soon drawn to her left, coming from the parking lot in the lower level. A familiar clicking of high heels, Emily smiles at the woman approaching, Erika Olsen, small, long brown hair, blue eyes, she wore a suit with a skirt, not common for an Interpol agent. She carried a cup of Starbucks coffee, an obsession of hers.  
"Good morning, Erika" Emily says turning to face the elevator again.  
"And to you." The soft Norwegian accent replied.  
"Any idea what this is about?" Emily asks glancing to her friend.  
"Being called in on a Sunday. It's something big." She says as the doors open and they both step inside.

The doors open on the brightly lit Interpol office, the room is similar to the BAU, surrounded by desks, an upper platform where the office of the unit chief, Toby Rush, sits. Off to the right another door leading to a briefing room, various boards surround the room, some blank, others containing cases. Emily and Erika walk out of the elevator into the main office of MIS, the Major Incident Squad. Emily frowns as Toby emerges from his office wearing his signature blue suit, his face is stern, his brow furrowed, and his walk charged. Emily watches as he walks into the office just next to his. Her attention is drawn over her shoulder as Lily Cambell, a petite woman with long blond hair tied back in a ponytail wearing a pants suit, Dr. Arnie Long, a French behavioural psychologist, a small chubby man, who always wore a sweater, same design, different colour, today he's wearing purple, with brown pants, and Charlie Murphy, a broad Scotsman, stunningly handsome and strong, he preferred wearing tight t-shirts and jeans, thinking of himself as somewhat of a ladies man.  
"What's this about?" Lily asks walking into the office and stopping at her desk.  
"I have no idea, Harley sounded slightly frantic on the phone." Erika replies sitting down at her desk opposite Arnie's.

Harley Dowe, the team's coordinator, tried his best not to contact them on Sundays unless it something serious. Since they would always be in the middle of something terrifying during the week, Harley was always sure to give them the one day they get off some peace and somewhat of a normal life.  
"Was you having a good Sunday?" Charlie asks walking over to the coffee table over on the right side of the room.  
Erika shrugs. "I was on a date."  
Emily smirks. "Date?" She raises an eyebrow.  
"Yeah, it was nothing. Just lunch" She says waving her hand dismissively.

Toby emerges from Harley's office carrying a pile of files under his chin. His brow still furrowed, sweat beads appearing on his upper lip. He walks down the steps towards the desks placing them on the first one available, he stands up fully panting slightly.  
"Okay everyone, take a file. This is a big one! Harley said he'll be here in a couple of hours, he's driving from Manchester." He says walking over to the large computer screen turning it on.

A file appears on the screen of the Bank of England, the Bank of Scotland, Banque de France, Banco de Espana, and Banca d'Italia. Toby stands in front of them, he turns, flustered. He takes a deep breath as Charlie approaches him handing him a cup of coffee. Using the remote in his right hand he points it at the TV as the file appears in front of them.

"Alright, these are all important national banks, Bank of England, Bank of Scotland, Bank of Italy, France, and Spain. In the last 24 hours, all of these banks have been electronically hacked and their funds drained." Toby explains.  
Emily frowns. "But, the amount of money-"  
"Would be in the billions" Erika finishes.  
"The hacking has since taken a darker turn." Toby explains as he points the remote at the TV. "As of six – am this morning, Scotland Yard and Interpol's files were hacked as well as MI5 and the CIA, the list of these names have been targeted, Harold Colins – born in Newcastle, wanted for child exploitation, Teevan Doyle, born in Dublin, arrested in Croatia for three accounts of rape, two accounts of first degree murder, he alluded authorities by escaping the country on foot, Interpol have been after him for eight months and Vlad Petrov – A Russian extremist whom has one more than one occasion attempted a terrorist attack in the USA, since his last attempt seven months ago he was put on the CIA watch list but has since vanished." He takes a breath "No – one knows what all these things have in common only that it all happened within 24 hours, the subject left no trace of himself online or anywhere, he's possibly working for others and there could be more than one."  
"So what's the plan?" Charlie asks.  
"the plan is, my friend, Erika and Emily are heading to Italy and then to Russia – there's been a link in the codes between those two local police in St Petersburg are attempting to narrow in on Petrov, who has been sighted in the city within the last two days, once you're finished in Italy you'll head to Russia to question him." He looks at Charlie and Lily "You two will goto Spain and speak with local authority and check he files on Harold Collins." He turns his attention to Arnie "When Harley arrives you two are heading to France, same thing, make a connection, look into the code and local authority while you're there you'll be looking at Doyle."  
Arnie nods in agreement.  
"Fantastic. Let's get going then, I will be here doing all the digital work so if you need something searched it's me you call this time. Emily's friend has been sent back to the USA."  
They all start to stand up. "You know we should just hire for that position." Emily smirks.  
"Yeah, but it's a job we can all do…well except you, if you had been MI5, Norwegian National Guard, or French Intelligence trained you would be a code breaker too…" He grins.  
Emily rolls her eyes. "Nerds." She says as she starts to walk off.  
"We're nerds? I've seen your Netflix list, Emily!" Charlie shouts after herself and Erika.

The hustle of London's Heathrow Airport, the loud holiday makers in patterned flip-flops, loud jewellery, screaming and shouting attempting to control their overly hyperactive off-spring, in a spring April. Women wearing bikini tops, tank tops, crop tops, and tube tops, men wearing, short shorts, and socks with sandals. Duty Free packed with assorted perfumes and chocolates, overly enthusiastic staff ready to serve at a moment's notice. Overpriced Apple products that always made Emily scoff whenever she saw this. She always asks herself; Why would someone all of a sudden need an iPod at the airport? Emily hates the airport, it isn't like the DC national airport, small, compact, easy to locate anything you needed. It was rare the BAU went through the terminal but when they did Emily found it easy to say the least. However, Heathrow's winding hallways, many stores, people, staff and signs is almost daunting to the Interpol agent. Emily always felt on edge at Heathrow, it isn't the safest place in the world. It is too open. She often finds herself scanning the crowd for a potential terrorist until she would feel the soothing hand of her friend, Erika on her forearm. Emily turns and smiles, suddenly, she feels grounded again.

"You okay?" Erika asks not knowing the favour she is doing for her friend.  
"Yeah. Fine." Emily smiles in reply as they walk over to a vacant waiting area. "Hey, I have a question for you." Emily says as she sits down. "How did you learn to code?" she asks resting her elbow on the back of the chair and turning to face the small Norwegian woman with beautiful green eyes and a delicate smile.  
"Well…" She began as she frowns slightly. "It started when I as in the NNG Academy, one of the classes we have to take is coding and hacking since we deal with a lot of cybercrimes now." Erika explains.  
"See when I joined the FBI I didn't need to do that, we had Garcia for that." Emily chuckles.  
"Well, not every agency has a Garcia." Erika smirks resting her head on Emily's shoulder and closing her eyes.  
Emily turns her head to face Erika. "And not every agency has an Erika." She says softly with a smile.  
"Ah, so that's why you're-" Erika is cut off by the sound of shouting coming from the terminal.  
Emily looks up as Erika lifts her head off of Emily's shoulder. "What's going on?" Emily asks looking into the terminal as people start to scream and shots open on the airport.  
"Oh my god it's a shooting!" Erika says standing up. "Our guns are checked!" She groans.  
"Come on! We have to find something."

Erika and Emily quickly stand, they lower themselves close to the floor as they slowly crouch towards one of the many clothes shops. The terminal was so large, it was easy to get lost. Their objective was to get to the guard station, there they would have something they could use to defend themselves against whoever was shooting the terminal. Emily and Erika move through the clothes shop, pushing aside various hanging t-shirts and shorts, they take cover at the back of the store behind the counter, when they look up their eyes fall on a terrified sixteen-year-old girl, holding her head, sobbing as she's crouched down. Emily takes out her cell phone, and places it to her ear.

"Rush – We're at Heathrow Airport, a shooting has just started."  
"A shooting?" Rush replies on the phone. "Okay, let me get eyes on you. Which terminal?"  
"Terminal two." Emily replies.  
"Okay, I got the terminal, where are you, exactly?"  
"We're in…" Emily peeks over the counter to the shop name. "Top Shop at Heathrow." She says ducking back behind the counter.  
"Okay got you! I've got response teams on the way, the others went to Gatwick and Luton, I'm calling them back to London office now! Stay put."  
"We can't stay put! There are people dying! We have to get to a guard station!"  
He sighs on the other end of the phone. "Alright. Give me a second…" A moment feels like an eternity. Emily's heart is pounding in her chest. "Okay, there seems to be a backway out of the store, head out and then north for about half a kilometre and then there's a security door, when you get there I'll bypass it." He explains.  
"Got it!" Emily says hanging up the phone and turning to Erika. "Lets go!" She says as she moves carefully to the back door.  
Erika turns to the young girl. "Stay put, stay quiet." She flashes her Interpol badge. "You'll be okay." She smiles softly.

 


	3. Echoes and Blood

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> -I am so bad at writing summaries- With the airport under fire the responsibility to save everyone falls on Emily and Erika. Can they save everyone and themselves?

**Echoes and Blood**

 

 

The winding corridors of Terminal Two. Windowed panels decorate the outside showing the planes in the bay below as well as hundreds of police cars attempting to find their way into the building but know if they alert the shooter he will just start picking off the remaining survivors again. They're stealthy in their movement, the tiled floor is too loud for them to walk with their shoes on. Erika almost cries as she takes off her pair of high heel Jimmy Choo shoes, that she brought with her first ever paycheque from the NNG, Norwegian National Guard. The mirror effect of the floor is helpful in these kinds of moments. It allows them to see around corners, see who is hiding under which table in an attempt to save their life from the mad gunman who they know nothing about only that he had a gun and he is ready to kill anyone in his way. Sticking close to the wall, hand in hand, they're calm and steady. As the gunfire starts again in the distance Erika grips Emily's hand harder. She looks back to the people. Emily sighs feeling a heavy heart weighing on her chest. She pulls Erika slightly to her.  
"Come on, we can't do anything without a way to defend ourselves."  
"We have to get this guy." Erika's voice is shaken, angry.  
"We will, I promise." Emily looks forward and guides Erika along the corridor.  
Reaching the security door, the panel glows a dark seething red. Emily looks over her shoulder as Erika takes out her phone. She leans against the wall waiting a few moments.  
"if he hasn't unlocked the door we will have to find cover somewhere we're too open." Emily states as her eyes dart from side to side.  
Erika sighs with relief as he answers the call. "Have you unlocked the door." The demanding sound in Erika's voice highlights the intensity of the situation.  
"I'm having a little trouble bypassing the security code." Rush says on the other end of the phone.  
"What do you mean you're having trouble? Its an airport security lock!" Erika says through gritted teeth.  
"That is hard to break into?"  
"No! Since when?"  
"Uh…nine-eleven? Just let me work."

Two minutes feels like an eternity. For the first time in her life, without her vest and gun, Emily is scared. her heart is racing, beads of sweat on her upper lip and forehead, shortness of breath but she isn't doing any exercise. Looking over at Erika on the phone she feels the fear only grow greater. Watching Erika, a woman, who over the course of seven months, she has become extremely close to. She found a person in her life who makes her feel safe which is rare. The petite woman, with long brown hair, green eyes, pale skin, and a flair for fashion was slowly making her way into Emily's heart and the thought of losing her was driving her insane. She looks back to the empty corridor. On a normal day, Terminal Two would be full of people excited to go on vacation or saddened by the fact they were leaving one of the most historical places on earth. It's a haunting feeling. The loss of life mixed with the abandonment of the terminal. Emily leans against the wall, she turns when she hears the sound of someone walking down the corridor.  
"Tell Rush to hurry up I think he's coming." Emily says.  
Erika nods "He's coming! Hurry!" Erika demands.  
"I got him on camera, he is walking towards your location. Okay – going as quick as I can." Rush says as Erika hears him type faster. Suddenly, the panel turns from red to green and the door opens for them. Emily and Erika rush through the door into the small security room, it is a compact room, grey walls and no windows, lit by the bright ceiling light, at the back of the room, behind a table with four chairs sits a grey gun case. Closing it behind them and locking it, they lean against the metal plating of the door. They look at each other for a moment and hold their gaze. Erika's hand softly slides into Emily's. She smiles softly.  
"We will get through this, I promise." She smiles. "We have to, the heroes never die."  
Erika lets go of Emily's hand as she pushes herself off of the door and over to the metal cabinet. Erika pulls the doors open but suddenly her eyes widen, the cabinet that is meant to harbour guns in the event of a terrorist attack…Erika steps aside to revel to Emily the gun case is empty.  
Emily bites her bottom lip as she walks over to the grey coloured gun case.  
"The shooter is a guard…and he has more than one gun."

Emily takes the phone from Erika placing it to her ear. "the shooter is a guard, run a search of all security in Terminal 2. He's angry, so search for any who have been shamed, fired, or had disciplinary action taken against them."  
"Got it!" Rush replies. "I'll call you back." He says before cutting the call.  
"What do we do until then?" Erika asks looking at the door to the room backing up against the wall. "We have no weapons, no vests, there's a mad gunman and he's shooting without a second thought." She looks at Emily.  
"Well…we wait for Rush to call back or we can wait for this to...blow over, but we're not going to do that." She says walking over to the door and opening it slightly. "I can't see him. We might be able to make it to the main guard tower just North Terminal 3." Emily says looking out of the door.  
"How far away?" Erika walks around the front of the desk.  
"If we run, three minutes."  
A sudden ripping sound comes from behind Emily. She frowns looking over her shoulder but smiles when her eyes fall on Erika ripping her skirt up the seem to allow her to run.  
"How much has that killed you inside?" She says with a chuckle.  
"You have no idea, its Dior." She says walking out of the door with Emily not far behind her.  
"Well, it makes your ass look-" Emily stops dead in her tracks.

Frozen to the spot, Emily takes a deep breath as she looks into Erika's terrified eyes, even agents, in these moments, feel fear. With no protection, no way of defending themselves. She sees the rifle being pressed into the centre of dark haired agent's back. Emily runs her eyes up his body, a tall broad man, dressed in black combat trousers, boots, a black hoodie with the hood pulled up over his head. His eyes speak of pain and anger, the red from lack of sleep, his lips scrunched up into pure anger. He doesn't speak as he turns away with Erika still being pressed to the tip of the rifle. Emily can hear the clicks of the weapon, she can see the handgun in his side belt and the knife sticking out of his boot.  _'He's been planning this a while…'_  Emily thinks to herself. Emily instinctively knows to follow him, she isn't leaving Erika alone. She knows if she speaks, he is going to kill both of them most likely in a very brutal way since he's holding out on killing them in cold blood there and then. If she tries to save Erika, he will kill them both and humiliate the bodies too. She is out of options, only to follow his orders and attempt to keep Erika safe, she was her only priority in this moment. He walks them along the corridor, Erika gulps as her breathing becomes heavier. Emily can see terrified people cowering, hiding, under chairs, behind counters, and under tables. He smirks and licks his lips as he walks past them, the feeling over power washing over him with every terrified glance. Not a single sound is being uttered apart from the sound of his boots on the tile floor and Emily's own terrified heartbeat in her ears. He freezes in his path, Erika swallows hard again as Emily's phone starts to ring, loudly. He turns slowly to face Emily, his icy stare looking directly into her very being. She feels as if he was reaching inside her mind and pulling out every shred of humanity she has. Emily reaches into her pocket and pulls out the Motorola flip phone, as she's about to decline the call she hears the raspy, cold voice, of the killer.  
"Answer it." Two simple words.  
She looks up at him as she answers the call, placing the phone to her ear. "Hello."  
"I know who your guy is." Rush says on the phone as he pulls up the guard's file.  
"Uh-huh." Emily replies in hopes of not giving too much away to the killer.  
"No thank you, kiss your ass, or nothing? Nice Prentiss. Just-"  
"bring up the security feed, corridor three." Emily says.  
A silence falls between herself and Rush, she could hear his breathing become heavier. Emily bites her lip.  
"Rush?" She says softly.  
"If you make a sudden move, he'll kill her without hesitation." Rush says.  
"He's angry, resentful and he's taking it out on these people." Emily says calmly.  
"That adds up, he was sacked four days ago for aggressive behaviour towards several flyers going through the airport." He explains. "He has a history of violent behaviour, being pushed aside, it seems like this guy was ignored when he did something well but acknowledged when he did something seemingly dangerous or, in some cases, psychotic."  
"Lack of attention as a child." Emily squints her eyes as she looks at him. "Is he deaf?"  
"Record show's a hearing impairment but doesn't state how bad it is. Why?"  
"Because he's watching this conversation but not responding to what I'm saying."  
"Can he see your lips?"  
"No." Emily replies.  
"Use it to your advantage, see if you and Erika can sneak passengers out through the south emergency exit." Rush explains.  
"Got it!" Emily replies.  
"I'll keep watching from the cameras, stay safe." Rush hangs up the phone.

Emily closes the flip phone. She looks at the shooter, their eyes meet. He turns and pushes Erika through the terminal with Emily following him. They reach the main food court area of the terminal. He sits them both down on the waiting bench. An elderly woman, dressed in a fabric tracksuit, with a visor, who is sat on the floor by the benches looks at the two of them. She frowns.  
"Why didn't he shoot you when he found you hiding?" She asks. "He shot my husband and all he was doing was coming out of the bathroom." She explains.  
"I'm sorry we can't tell you anything but we're going to get everyone out of here alive." Erika says softly to her taking her hand.

The gunman turns, the look in his eye changes, his charged walk brings tension to Erika as he approaches her. He grabs her by her long brown hair and pulls her up, Emily attempts to grab her to pull her back down, he lifts his leg and kicks her in the chest winding her as she falls back coughing. Holding her by her hair, he presses the gun to her back again. Erika grits her teeth.

"You won't get away with this. I'm an Interpol agent and you won't get away with this!" Erika shouts.  
"Shut up!" He yells at her. He walks her to the centre of the terminal, people cowering under the stalls and behind the desks. He points her to them.  
"This is what happens when you anger me!" He turns Erika to him, the gun pressing to her stomach. "I hope you don't have kids." He says with a smirk, her eyes search his to find some form of humanity but it all seems to have faded away and all that was left was a soulless, lifeless, killer. He pulls the trigger. The sound of the rifle echoes through the terminal. Erika falls to the floor, blood pooling around her, lifeless.

 


	4. Memories and Nightmares

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> -Still crap at writing summaries- With Erika unconscious we journey into her world, a look into her purpose and what drives her to do what she does.

**Memories and Nightmares**

 

 

Death is the objection of reality, binding humanity and the animal kingdom, plants and fish. When we die. Sensibility of Realism, the slow motion of reality. Freeze. Silence looms and breaks. The smell of his breath, his hands gripping her hair, she feels – cold just like she read in all the books about dying. There is no bright light, no feeling of comfort, no relatives there to bring her to the other side, just silence, stability, and knowledge that she is dying. The world around her flashes in and out, voices breaking through sound and light piercing through. She can hear her own heart beating. She can't move, paralysed, but a state of mental paralyse. She is traveling but her body isn't moving. Those words he spoke to her before shooting her.  
"I hope you don't have kids."  
That smile, those eyes, his voice, her final moments spent in the arms of a killer taking her life. The only question running through her mind as she fades away into the sombre bleakness of death. 'I hope she remembers to visit Hayley.'. The pain, the justification, the questions. Is this the meaning of life? To live, protect, serve, and then to be killed? Darkness falls, there is no light, only…silence.

Light pierces through the darkness as she opens her eyes. She feels the sun peeking through the curtains on her pale face. Her pink lips part slightly. Dry like she hadn't hydrated in many years. Familiar smells, familiar surroundings. Erika moves her dark hair from her face as she turns over in the large king size bed to the empty side next to her. She reaches out and touches the pillow. A smile forms on her lips, a smile of solace. She sits up and looks around the pale blue bedroom, frowning, she knows this bedroom, she knows this house. The question is; 'Why am I here?'. Erika rubs her eyes as they travel around the room, from the white closet at the back by the door, to the balcony doors to the right, and the dressing table to the left. The room is neatly painted, with pictures of Erika's family on the wall. She looks to the bedside table and her heart skips a beat. She becomes breathless as she reaches for a photo. She smiles as tears form in her eyes and start to slowly run down her cheeks. She runs her fingers over the wedding picture, looking at the man dressed in an army dress uniform and herself beside him in a beautiful white strapless dress. They look happy. He's handsome man, broad shoulders, muscular, and smiling brightly. She looks up as the door opens in front of her. Erika's eyes sparkle as she watches the very man in the picture enter the bedroom carrying a tray of pancakes. She places the picture back on the bedside table as she braces up as he enters the room. The tears behind her eyes fall down her cheeks as hurries down the bed wearing a US army t-shirt three sizes too big. The man smiles as he places down the tray on the ottoman at the end of the bed and catches Erika in his arms.  
"Is it really you?" She cries touching his face. "Is it really you, Michael?" She sobs  
His smile fades into concern. "Erika, what's wrong with you? Did you have a bad dream?" Michael asks  
She smiles through the tears. "Yeah, another bad dream." She pulls him by his tank top straps into a passionate and loving kiss.

A smile spreads across her lips as the kiss deepens as he pushes her back onto the bed lifting up the long t-shirt just under her breasts and kisses along her abdomen. Erika smiles bites her lip, her eyes closed, and her fingers tangled in his dark brown hair. He looks up at her. His eyes sparkle with love as he kisses back up her body and to her lips.  
"You've never been one to let me do this in the morning." He says breaking the kiss as she opens her eyes.  
"I just missed you a lot." She whispers softly.  
"Missed me? I've been back months." He grins. "Is it my birthday?"  
"Are you really questioning this?" She asks raising an eyebrow as she rolls him over onto his back and straddles his waist. His hands run up the side of her body, tickling her skin. "Questioning why your hot wife wants to…"  
"Mommy!" A voice calls from another room.  
Erika looks over her shoulder. Her face changes, her eyes become softer and her lips part slightly. She climbs off Michael. He sits up looking at her as he watches her move across the room to the door frowning. With haste she opens the white bedroom door stepping out onto the wooden floor of the neatly decorated house similar in decoration to the bedroom. The hallway was painted a pale yellow, family pictures hang along the wall. Erika stops. She looks around in disbelief. Was it all just a nightmare that she has just now woken up from? She looks at another wedding day picture hanging on the wall. Everything was like the day it happened five years ago.  
"Mommy?" The voice calls again from down the hallway.  
Erika looks down the brightly lit, natural light corridor. She starts to walk down the hallway, passing a door on the right leading to the family bathroom, walking until she reaches a door with a name in pink writing 'Hayley' across the wood. Erika places her hand on the door knob, she turns it, takes a deep breath, closing her eyes, then opens her eyes as she opens the door. Her heart is in her throat, she starts to cry again and falls to her knees as a five-year-old girl, long brown hair, blue eyes, wearing Mickey Mouse pyjamas, jumps out of bed and rushes over to her mother with a bright smile on her face and hope in her eyes. Erika wraps her arms around Hayley holding her in her arms. She kisses her forehead, she can smell her hair.  
"Oh Hayley!" She cries.  
"Mommy?" The little girl speaks softly. "Why are you crying?" She pulls away slightly to look at Erika who wipes her eyes.  
"I'm just happy to see you, baby." She smiles through her tears and kisses her daughter again. "I love you so much!"  
"I love you too, mommy!" Hayley replies looking up at Erika with beautiful blue eyes.  
"Want some pancakes?" She asks taking Hayley's hand in her own.  
"Yes!" She exclaims jumping as Erika opens the door to the bedroom.

As she passes through the threshold everything around her fades away into darkness. Erika looks around, she swallows hard as she looks down and her heart falls. She sobs as she bends down to the empty fading away spirit of her daughter. She holds the lifeless, still body, of her daughter Hayley as she falls through, disappearing before her eyes.  
"No…no…don't take her again. Take me!" Erika sobs as her hands fall empty.  
Erika sits on the floor and pulls her knees into her chest, her clothing changes to a black pants suit. She rocks backwards and forwards looking up into the empty abyss above her. The nightmare wasn't what she was waking up from it was what she was experiencing. Her worse nightmare five years ago before her move to London.

Something told her to stand up. The world around her changes, plants grow, grass forms, houses upon houses appear in front of her, street lights but silence. The street is in silence. Each house looks different from the last. Erika dries her eyes as she looks up at the black sky again. Stars vanish and reappear, there is no sparkling. Erika looks up at the cream coloured, slated, house. A large house, beautifully decorated with purple window frames, clean windows, beautiful roses in the front yard and two cars parked in the drive way. One car; a blue pick-up truck and another a black sedan. Erika knows the next scene she is about to see. She feels sick to her stomach. For years working for the Norwegian National Guard Erika has seen many dead bodies. People killed in the most brutal of ways, but nothing could prepare her for what she experienced five years ago. She feels a familiar feeling of confusion wash over her as she walks along the pathway to the house. Holding her keys in her left hand she approaches the black front door. She can hear her heartbeat in her ears as she places they keys in the lock. Sweat beads form on her forehead as she opens the front door.

The house is in darkness, the door creeks open as Erika steps through the threshold into the downstairs hallways closing the door behind her. She closes her eyes as her tears fall down her cheeks. She takes a deep breath moving further into the house turning on the downstairs light via the light switch on the wall by the stairs. That is when she notices the blood splatter on the walls and floor. Erika turns right, moving into the living room following the trail of blood and tissue that's when her blood runs cold. She stops dead in her tracks looking at the image before her. This is more than a nightmare, a scream erupts from the dark-haired woman as she looks at the man she loves so dearly, tied to a chair with his intestines ripped open and laid around him. For the first time in her life, Erika feels helpless. She feels what all those families feel when she tells them about murdered relatives. She cries as she moves out of the living room. She realises the silence, she stops crying as she looks upstairs into the darkness.  
"Hayley?" She calls.  
Silence is her reply.  
"Hayley!?" She yells.  
Erika slowly ascends the stairs, she doesn't touch the walls. The darkness shields the blood dripping from the steps she was walking. She reaches the landing again. The darkness is haunting her. With each step she took as she walks across the hallway to Hayley's room. The pure white door smeared with blood. She opens the door slowly she knows what she is going to see she experienced this before. The horror a mother should never see. Screaming as she falls back against the wall sliding down onto the ground, sobbing looking at the body of her five-year-old daughter, Hayley, dead in her bed still. Blood stained Mickey Mouse pyjamas. She pulls her knees up under her chin, tightly into her chest, her breathing intensifies, she shakes as she cries loudly resting her head back against the wall.  
"Why would you give them to me just to take them away? Why would you be so cruel?" She cries into the darkness.

She feels the cold cover her again. The abyss falls away into nothingness. Forever haunting images flashing through her mind. She just wants to die, she wants to be with them again. She wants to tuck her daughter into bed and have dinner and movie night with her husband, she wants her life back not the nightmare she was thrown into. Suddenly, everything becomes calm, everything becomes stable. Erika looks around her again as she hears a calming and familiar voice.  
"Mrs. Caine?" The voice speaks.  
Erika opens her eyes looking into the deep, soulful, brown eyes of Emily Prentiss. Her sobbing stops as she looks at her friend. Emily always has the ability to make Erika feel safe and secure. Erika looks at Emily and around the room. Sitting on the couch, in the same position she was upstairs in her home. Emily reaches out and takes Erika's hand in her own. She looks at her with tear stained cheeks and puffy eyes.  
"Mrs. Caine, I know this is difficult, I need you to tell me what happened." Emily says softly.  
Erika clears her throat looking at Emily. She nods. "I…um, I came home from work, I walked in through the front door, into the living room and found my husband….I then went upstairs and found my daughter…" She says shakily.  
"Thank you…Mrs. Caine." Emily stands up from the couch just before she walks away she turns to Erika. "I'm Agent Prentiss, Emily." She smiles supportively "And if you need anything…call me." Emily hands Erika her card.  
Erika takes the card looking up at Emily. She nods and places the card on the table next to the couch. "Thank you, my friend." She says in an almost whisper.

Erika opens her eyes, looking up at bright lights. She's cold, her lips are blue, her eyes are dark and sunken. She attempts to sit up but feels a hand push her back down again.  
"Hold still." A gentle voice speaks.  
"Emily?" Erika groans as her eyes focus.  
"Who else would it be?" Emily smiles as she comes into Erika's line of vision as she presses Erika's gun wound with her jacket. "Where did you go? You were unconscious for a while." Emily asks.  
Erika takes a deep breath before sitting up slightly everything coming back to her, the shooting, the case, Emily being here and catching her as she fell. She looks at her friend and sighs softly. She shakes her head "A nightmare…"

 


End file.
